Plot: An irreverent high-speed thriller follows a former teenage getaway driver who’s dragged again into her unsavory previous when a earlier employer affords her the prospect to save lots of the lifetime of her chronically unreliable ex-boyfriend.
Review: If I had a selection between the over-the-top theatricality of The Fast Saga and The Italian Job or the extra grounded world of Drive, Ronin, or The Usual Suspects, I’d take the latter each time. While Baby Driver is a uncommon mix of each, Edgar Wright’s movie skews extra unbelievable than plausible. Shawn Simmons’ function directorial debut, Eenie Meanie, regarded in trailers to be nearer to Baby Driver. Still, I used to be pleasantly shocked to search out it an enticing character drama with an indie sensibility that makes for a pleasant mix of motion, drama, and a few humor. With strong performances from Samara Weaving alongside Karl Glusman and Andy Garcia, Eenie Meanie is an surprising blast. (Check out our interviews with the cast!)
Eenie Meanie follows Edie (Samara Weaving), whom we first meet in Cleveland on the age of fourteen, as she has to drive for her drug addict mother and pa and will get in hassle with the legislation. Seventeen years later, Edie goes to varsity and works at a financial institution as she tries to drag her life collectively. When a botched financial institution theft forces Edie to reconnect together with her ex-boyfriend, John (Karl Glusman), Edie is compelled again to work for crime boss Nico (Andy Garcia), to whom John owes some huge cash. Nico, who gave Edie the nickname of “Eenie Meanie,” desires her to renew her function as the most effective getaway driver round to drag off a large heist at a neighborhood on line casino value hundreds of thousands of {dollars}. Edie reluctantly agrees, which makes John very joyful, a lot to Edie’s dismay. The setup of pushing Edie and John again collectively is simply the beginning because the movie shifts into heist mode for the rest of the working time.
Over the hour-and-forty-minute working time of Eenie Meanie, there are solely a handful of precise automotive chase sequences, however they’re all expertly filmed. Not as flashy as a few of the aforementioned motion films, they do stability strong enhancing and camerawork that retains the momentum churning. An early foot chase is enjoyable, however the bulk of Eenie Meanie is character-based scenes, most of which concentrate on Edie herself. Samara Weaving has had spectacular showcase roles earlier than, together with Ready or Not, The Babysitter, Azrael, and Borderline, however Eenie Meanie is considered one of her strongest up to now. Edie is a good character who aspires for a greater life however struggles together with her previous, embodied by numerous males, together with her father (Steve Zahn), John, and Nico. While the movie avoids delving into components of poisonous masculinity as a theme, there may be an empowerment thread in Edie’s arc that Samara Weaving makes use of to construct depth into her efficiency.

Karl Glusman, giving off a Pete Davidson vibe, performs John as a perennial loser who has a reference to Edie that retains them sure by love, for higher or worse. The relationship between Edie and John is commonly irritating, but it surely performs into the dynamic of who Edie is and the place she desires to go. The supporting forged is filled with acquainted faces taking part in predominantly two-dimensional roles, together with Randall Park as card counter Leo, Mike O’Malley as Nico’s second-in-command George, Kyanna Simone as Edie’s good friend Baby Girl, and Chris Bauer as Gary the bartender. Former NFL participant Marshawn Lynch is a strong antagonist as rival driver Perm Walter, and Jermaine Fowler is an intriguing presence because the unnamed Chaperone. Lynch and Fowler dig into their roles probably the most, however neither is developed sufficient to care about. Sometimes, I want the supporting gamers had been fleshed out extra, however Eenie Meanie is centered on Samara Weaving’s character, which implies everybody else takes a again seat. Andy Garcia often is the exception, with Nico having three key scenes, together with a stellar one on the movie’s finish.
Produced by Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, Eenie Meanie is the function movie directorial debut of Shawn Simmons, who additionally wrote the script. Simmons has an extended profession writing for sitcoms like School of Rock, Awkward, and Kirby Buckets, in addition to the underwhelming John Wick spin-off The Continental. Simmons can also be the creator of Wayne, a short-lived Prime Video collection that shares some thematic connections to Eenie Meanie and has developed right into a cult favourite. Simmons has a particular aptitude for mixing motion and characters with this movie, feeling the grounded character drama each bit with punctuated moments of automotive chase motion. I anticipated this film to be very completely different, and I’m grateful for the welcome shock of how deftly Edie’s character is constructed round her previous and potential future. Simmons might have turned this right into a cliché heist film, however as an alternative creates the humor and drama into a movie woven with violence and motion.
With a strong soundtrack and a few spectacular automotive sequences, Eenie Meanie is a quick and enjoyable film that retains the pedal down from begin to end. There is simply sufficient comedy to interrupt a few of the extra tense moments, however this can be a surprisingly well-crafted character drama. Samara Weaving impresses once more with an impressive efficiency, adopted carefully by Karl Glusman and Andy Garcia. I loved a number of different supporting performances, however I hoped they might have been developed a little bit bit extra. Eenie Meanie is just not targeted completely on vehicle-based motion, however when it’s, it really works properly. The remainder of the time, that is an intense crime drama with some emotional components that work very properly. Eenie Meanie is a enjoyable mix of components anchored by the persistently glorious Weaving, making for a strong debut for Shawn Simmons as director.
Eenie Meanie premieres on August twenty second on Hulu.
Source:
JoBlo.com
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